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Beyond Technique: Motivational Interviewing, Power and Ethical Practice

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is widely used in children and family social work, as well as in health and social care services for adults. But when is it reasonable to focus on motivation, and how do we guard against inadvertently placing responsibility on individuals to change circumstances they can barely influence? The focus on this webinar replay is not on developing Motivational Interviewing skills, but on how we work with motivation in ways that are humane, context-aware and ethically grounded.

Included in this resource:

Webinar replay

Video icon Video (1:44:40) - Watch

Audio Audio (1:44:42) - Listen

Resources for facilitators

Trainer icon Instructions for using the replay as the basis of an in-house training session - Download

Email icon Email invite template - Download

For your CPD portfolio

 Certificate of learning - Download

 

Description

A recent article by Nina Kyriacou and Dr Henry Smith (Target Behaviour? A Critical Analysis of Motivational Interviewing in Children and Family Social Work) highlights the need for critical thinking around assumptions about motivation, and how inappropriate focus on motivation or target behaviour risks shifting responsibility onto individuals to bring about changes that they are not able to influence because of the social and structural influences shaping their circumstances.

The paper raises an important question: when is it reasonable to focus on motivation, and how do we guard against inadvertently placing responsibility on individuals to change circumstances they can barely influence?

This CareKnowledge Live webinar is an opportunity to explore this and other questions about MI carefully, and to ask how it can be used ethically in everyday practice.

We are joined by Nina Kyriacou, Dr Henry Smith, and internationally recognised MI practitioner and trainer Fredrik Eliasson.

Through three connected conversations and a Q&A, this webinar will explore:

  • The ideas about change and responsibility at the heart of MI
  • How a focus on individual motivation meets the realities of social and structural inequality
  • How practitioners distinguish between lack of motivation and limited capacity or opportunity
  • What happens when MI is used in statutory contexts shaped by authority, risk and constraint
  • How organisational pressures shape what becomes possible in everyday practice
  • What this asks of professional judgement, and of ethical practice, in complex systems

These resources will help you:

  • Reflect on the assumptions we can make about an individual's capacity to influence change
  • Deepen their understanding of the need to thoughtfully apply MI
  • Become more aware of the underlying principles and values that underpin MI
  • Reflect on what ethical MI practice looks like

Speakers

Fredrik Eliasson 

Fredrik Eliasson, BS, is the CEO and senior consultant at Cultivate Kindness AB, bringing over two decades of leadership experience in various government operations, including corrections, substance use disorder, mental health and youth care. His passion lies in promoting the adoption and effective implementation of evidence-based practices in practical contexts.

As an independent consultant, Fredrik collaborates with organizations and companies both in Sweden and internationally, specializing in communication, transformational leadership, organizational culture, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and implementation strategies.

Recognized as an expert in Motivational Interviewing, Fredrik is a co-founder of MILO - MI in Leadership and Organizations, and member of MINT (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers).

Nina Kyriacou

Social Worker

Dr Henry Smith

Dr Henry Smith is a qualified social worker with over 15 years experience in both statutory and voluntary children and family social work settings. He is the course lead for the BA Social Work at the University of Sussex. His research focuses on the application of psychoanalytic ideas, notably the work of Wilfred Bion, in social work supervision, welfare organisations and social work practice more broadly. In addition he is interested in the application of systemic practice, motivational interviewing, systems theory and complexity theory in social work practice, and how these theories connect with ideas from psychoanalysis.

 

Further reading

This resource set is structured around recordings of a webinar first broadcast on 18 June 2026. These further reading recommendations were compiled following the live event.

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